The Stock+Field location in Findlay that recently closed will be among stores that the company will be reopening soon.

Stock+Field (formerly Big R) says they are under new management and ownership and are busy readying stores with the products, prices and experience customers will appreciate.

The Findlay location at the mall has a big banner at the entrance that says “now hiring”.

The Stock+Field website lists 22 locations, including Findlay and Lima, that will be reopening soon.

In January, Stock+Field announced it was closing its 25 locations, including the one in Findlay at the mall.

When the company announced the closures in January, they did say they hoped to reopen stores at some point in the future.

In other mall news, a few weeks ago the Hancock County Board of Commissioners announced that the county plans to purchase a big chunk of the Findlay Mall property.

County officials plan to move the Hancock County Probate/Juvenile Court to the mall property.

Not included in the purchase would be the Stock+Field building which is a separate lot now and the Dunhams and Best Buy area or the Five Guys restaurant.

The county has plans to move the Hancock County Probate/Juvenile Court there.

Other square footage would be used for county office space and some would remain as leased space for retailers.

The Findlay Police Department says a man is facing OVI and other charges after crashing into a parked vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot.

It happened in the 400 block of Howard Street at around 2 a.m. Saturday.

Police say Ty H. Ball, 26, of Fostoria, was driving eastbound on Howard Street when he crashed into a truck that was parked on the south side of the street.

The impact caused Ball’s car to turn sideways and then roll over.

Police say Ball fled on foot and was found walking in the 600 block of Howard Street.

Ball sustained cuts to his face and hands from the crash and was treated on the scene by Hanco EMS.

Police say, after further investigation, Ball was arrested for Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (OVI) and also cited for leaving the scene of an accident, failure to drive in marked lanes and having no driver license.

The Findlay Fire Department responded to a building on the University of Findlay campus for a small fire.

Firefighters arrived at William B. Brewer Science Hall a little after 7:30 Friday night on the report of a fire in the boiler room.

When firefighters arrived they learned that campus security had already put the fire out.

There were no students in the building when the fire started and no one was injured.

No word on the cause of the fire.

National Honor Society students at Findlay High School made a positive impact on the environment through a new litter cleanup project called Blue & Gold Goes Green.

Senior Sakhi Bhavsar was one of about 90 students who participated and she and some friends cleaned up along the Blanchard River at Liberty Landing boat launch and park.

Sakhi said she and her friends were shocked by just how much trash they collected.

Sakhi told WFIN that she grew up in India where litter is a huge problem and it’s hard to even organize a cleanup event because the problem is so extensive.

But she said she’s going to share with her family in India the success that she and her fellow students had and let her family know that it’s possible there too.

Lauren Sandhu with the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership says their goal was to pick up 1,000 pieces of litter and they ended up collecting more than 5,000.

Sandhu also gave a presentation to the students, educating them about the detrimental effects of litter on the local ecosystem, how plastics make their way into the food chain, as well as how polluted water flows into and affects the health of Lake Erie.

Students picked up litter at different sites around Findlay with one of the sites being on the school campus as students cleaned up around Dalzell Ditch (below) which feeds into the Blanchard River.

The litter cleanup project was a result of a new collaboration between the United Way, the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership and Findlay City Schools.

The students kicked off the first day of what will be an all-weekend litter cleanup for the watershed partnership.

During their second annual Findlay Earth Day Litter Challenge, employees from Ball Corp. will work with the partnership and the River Network to pick up more litter throughout Hancock County on Saturday and Sunday.

Wolfies Roasted Nuts in Findlay is voluntarily recalling its Cheddar & Jalapeno Artisan Nuts.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture says the recall is due to an undeclared milk allergen and undeclared artificial colors including FD&C Yellow Nos. 5 and 6.

The recall has been initiated due to the ingredient label not listing cheese as an ingredient, which contains a milk allergen.

The label also failed to list the artificial color additives FD&C Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6 which can also result in an allergic-type reaction in certain individuals.

Products were packaged in either a 5 oz, 14 oz, or 28 oz black rice paper stand up pouch or an 80 oz clear poly bag labeled “Cheddar & Jalapeno” with a Wolfies Roasted Nuts label.

Products were available for sale at the following locations in Ohio:

• Wolfies Roasted Nuts & Deli, Findlay
• Another Wolfies, Findlay
• Southside Wolfies, Findlay
• Brinkman’s Country Corner, Findlay
• Great Scot Supermarkets, Findlay (both locations)
• Dietsch Brothers, Findlay (both locations)
• Bowling Green Beer Works, Bowling Green
• Brooky’s Express, Ottawa
• Cigars N Stuff, Findlay
• Coffee Amici, Findlay
• Continental Plaza, Wauseon
• Homestead Collection, Findlay
• Hometown Market Place, Carey
• Millers Meats, Findlay
• Moose Lodge #698, Findlay
• Smoke-N-Stuff, Findlay
• West End Tavern, Findlay
• West Side Carryout, Findlay

The issue was discovered during a routine inspection conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

There have been no reports of illness involving products addressed in this recall; however, people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk or FD&C Yellow Nos. 5 or 6 run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. Individuals exhibiting signs or symptoms of a foodborne illness or allergies should contact a physician immediately.

Customers with an allergy or sensitivity to the undeclared ingredients who have purchased the affected product should dispose of it or return it to Wolfies Roasted Nut Co. for a replacement. Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Wolfies Roasted Nut Co. at 419-423-1355.

A woman was issued a citation after causing a three-vehicle crash in Findlay but fortunately no one was seriously injured.

The crash happened on North Blanchard Street at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway at 6:11 p.m. Thursday.

The Findlay Police Department says Melissa Billmaier, 37, of Findlay, was traveling northeast on MLK Parkway towards the North Blanchard Street intersection when she made a left turn against the red light to go north on North Blanchard.

Police say her minivan struck the left rear of an SUV that was going north on North Blanchard and had entered the intersection on a green light.

The impact sent the SUV fishtailing and it struck a minivan that was southbound on North Blanchard.

The SUV sustained disabling front-end damage from the second impact and it and the second minivan were towed from the scene.

Police say all parties refused medical treatment.

Police say Billmaier was issued a citation for disobeying a traffic control device for running the red light.

North Blanchard Street was shut down between Center Street and Tiffin Avenue as crews responded to and cleared the crash.

Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County has opened a Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) in Findlay.

Habitat says the FOC offers tailored services designed to help participants secure living wage jobs, build credit, reduce debt, and gain wealth.

Full details are in the following news release.

Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County announces the grand opening of a Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) to engage, educate, and empower the residents of Hancock County.

“The opportunity to partner with the community and implement an FOC model designed to support consumers in becoming and remaining financially self-sufficient is very exciting,” said Wendy McCormick, Executive Director.  “At Habitat, our mission has always been to partner with families to help them stabilize. With the Habitat FOC, we can now take our work beyond just their shelter and truly focus on engaging, educating, and empowering individuals and families to build their own future.”

Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County is the 15th location in the country to implement the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) rural FOC model. LISC is a national effort in partnership with critical funders such as General Motors. In Findlay, supporters include The Findlay/Hancock County Community Foundation and the Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS).

“Our FOC offers tailored services designed to help participants secure living wage jobs, build credit, reduce debt, and gain wealth,” said Dustin Fuller, FOC Manager. “Data has shown that clients receiving this integrated approach, through the FOC model, are 50 percent more likely to be employed year-round, reduce non-asset-related debt, build a positive credit history, and be employed longer. We have a goal to collectively support 30 individuals and families in the first year with customized financial stability action plans and coaching.”

Habitat FOC provides services across three areas: employment services, financial education and coaching, and public benefits access. The core services are offered through an integrated, data-driven model that reinforce one another and provide a multi-faceted approach to income and wealth building.

Habitat’s FOC is currently open in Findlay and is accepting applicants from the greater Findlay area who would like to participate in one-on-one coaching to build their future. To schedule an appointment, contact Dustin at 419-429-1400 x 222 or FOCManager@habitatfindlay.org.

(ONN) – A $75 billion state budget containing a 2 percent personal income tax cut and an overhaul of the state’s school-funding system has been approved by the Ohio House of Representatives.

The fiscal blueprint lays out spending for state programs for the two years beginning July 1st.

The income tax cut would cost the state $380 million in tax revenue over the biennium.

Majority Republicans characterized it as an important benefit for Ohioans economically strapped by the past year’s global pandemic.

House Democrats largely opposed the bill, arguing its funding priorities were misplaced.

The budget must next clear the Ohio Senate, where hearings have already begun.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says there’s been a rash of break-ins to unlocked cars and homes during the evening and overnight hours in the southern part of the county.

The sheriff’s office is reminding people that the easiest way to prevent yourself from being an easy target is to simply lock your doors.

The sheriff’s office is suggesting that people start a new 9 p.m. routine that includes locking up their vehicles, locking the doors to their house and locking their windows.

People are also reminded to never leave valuables in their car and to report any suspicious activity.

People can always call 911 in an emergency and the sheriff’s office non-emergency line at 419-422-2424.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association is expanding the football playoffs.

Beginning this fall, the number of playoff qualifiers will increase to 16 schools per region.

Since 1999, eight schools in each region have qualified for the playoffs.

The expansion will double the number of football playoff qualifiers from 224 up to 448.

“Last fall we received overwhelmingly positive feedback when we allowed every team to enter the football playoffs due to the shortened season because of COVID-19,” said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute.

“We know there are some who want to keep the football postseason to a smaller number of schools, but the postseason tournament gives such a positive experience for our student-athletes, the schools and their communities that we felt strongly about giving that opportunity to more schools to make the playoffs. And football remains the OHSAA sport in which not every team automatically qualifies for the postseason.”

Also, the higher seeded team will host first and second round playoff games, instead of only the first round, before neutral sites are used beginning with the regional semifinals.

The OHSAA is also exploring adding a strength of schedule component to the Harbin computer ratings, which are used to determine the playoff qualifiers.

A strength of schedule component could be added in 2022.

The first Friday of the regular-season is August 20th, and the regular-season will conclude on Saturday, October 23rd.

2021 OHSAA Football Playoff Schedule:

October 29-30 – First Round at Higher Seeded Teams
November 5-6 – Regional Quarterfinals at Higher Seeded Teams
November 12-13 – Regional Semifinals at Neutral Sites
November 19-20 – Regional Finals at Neutral Sites
November 26-27 – State Semifinals at Neutral Sites
December 2-5 – State Championships, Site TBD, one game Thursday, two games each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday